 Theology of public life lessons for a lot in the city of Sodom and this morning we are continuing through this first section in our study and again talking about the relationship of the Christian to the state and Most recently I guess by way of review. We'll begin with that most recently We have introduced the biblical concept of biblical concept of jurisdiction from Juris meaning law addiction meaning to speak Jurisdiction refers to the authority The God-given authority to speak the law within a given sphere of responsibility. I mean we talked about Abraham Kuiper's Thoughts on sphere sovereignty helps us to understand that but from that biblical concept of jurisdiction we discussed them a false or an unbiblical application of that concept Used by our government today used by public institutions social institutions today to cancel or Silence any moral influence on the part of the church from the sphere of the church And that is the false dichotomy or the separation between the church and the state and we looked at why that was false We looked at the details With respect to that the biblical how we are to biblically understand that I was reading something this week and in what I was reading he was talking about the That there was no separation between church and state in the Bible. It's just not true And we see that those jurisdictional spheres of authority present even in the theocracy of Israel between the the priesthood the king between civil judicial moral law and so those judicial or Jurisdictional spheres of authority even present in Old Testament Israel So there has been there is a separation a proper biblical separation between church and state and that's to be Our founding fathers intended that to be mirrored in the separation of church and state that we find in our own government finally in talking about that issue of church and state and how State was never to operate to the exclusion of God or the Influence of the church in the the operation of the civil authorities Finally, we began to look at the the proper biblical relationship then between those spheres of authority using Abraham Kiper's writing on sphere sovereignty We considered the sphere of the state The social sphere there's the sphere of the church and then the sphere of the individual and Kiper tends to blend The sphere of the church and the individual together. So now this morning then In continuing thinking about this and what we're doing is we're gradually over time. We want to understand our circumstances We did that at the beginning An introduction to that we want to now think through our relationship to governing authorities civil authorities We're beginning to introduce that and so this morning. We want to begin unpacking of a critical text From the Bible to help us further understand the relationship between the spheres, okay? And that text is Romans chapter 13 verses 1 through 7 today is going to be a Romans fiesta Romans in sunny school Romans during the church service look forward to it. It's a joy to be in the book of Romans In particular for Romans 13 we want to look at the sphere of the church in The sphere the state or the sphere of the individual as the individual relates to the sphere of the state And this is going to take us a couple of weeks probably a few weeks to work through this text And we'll get to as we work through the text more and more implications from the text That will help us understand what Paul intends by this statement, okay by this paragraph here in Romans 13 Paul according to the wisdom given to him as Peter would say later has written to us of these things in which are some things hard to understand Which untaught and unstable people have twisted to their own destruction as they do the rest of the scriptures So we want to take what Paul is writing here. We want to understand what Paul is writing We want to clearly understand what is not being said and then clearly understand what is being said and we'll do that As we work verse by verse through the through the passage this passage has been Prevalently pervasively over time Twisted misrepresented and so we're calling this segment of a theology of public life writing wrongs from Romans All right, we want to clarify a biblical understanding of this text and write some of those Interpretational wrongs that have been imposed on the text over a long period of time in particular in our day and age right these things were I was I was reading a Vendicke a contra tyrannous some this week that we're gonna get into that book later in this study But he was making comments. This was early in the history of the church after the Reformation early and making comments about the sphere of the state and the sphere of the state encroaching on the sphere of the church and we our brothers and sisters from centuries past have just Been compelled to think more clearly about these things because of their circumstances We less so because we've enjoyed blessing over the entirety of our lives the blessing of not being persecuted by the government for our faith those times are changing but We do need to address these issues and we need to think about them rightly and we're gonna draw on help from those brothers as we go Many believe that the Bible teaches or they act as though the Bible teaches Absolute obedience to civil authorities Or they interpret text like Romans 13 in such a way that undermines the Lordship of Jesus Christ or The headship if you will the sovereignty the absolute sovereignty of God Over all civil governments and so they interpret Romans 13 in a way that undermines that sovereign authority the sovereign authority of God It's not as simple as to say That we obey God we obey government in all things Except for when the government calls us to disobey God That's a I think a very simplistic way of interpreting Romans chapter 13 and we're gonna see why as we break down the details of the text It's just not quite that simple and there are many ways in which today even in our current context We're not being actively persecuted right now as a church by the government. There are churches just to the north of us Who are actively being persecuted by their government? for worship and they've got tough decisions to make and They're rode a little more difficult than ours is right now. I think that's going to creep south so we'll we'll trust the Lord with all that when that comes but We have a tendency to look too Simplistically at an application of Romans chapter 13 and I think in looking at Romans 13 too simplistically the Christian is tempted to or prone to Undermine the true lordship of Jesus Christ over civil authorities by failing to take a stand where we should be taking a stand to Restrict resist tyranny. And so we're gonna look at that. We're gonna get some clarity I hope in looking at this text together over the next several weeks. All right, let's read the text together Romans chapter 13 Beginning in verse one writing wrongs from Romans verse one Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and The authorities that exist are appointed by God Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same for he is God's minister to you for good But if you do evil be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain For he is God's minister and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil Therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath, but also for conscience's sake For because of this you also pay taxes for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing Render therefore to all their due taxes to whom taxes are due Custom customs to whom customs fear to whom fear honor to whom honor Okay Romans chapter 13 after explaining the problem of man's sin After explaining the the glorious remedy provided by God through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ That's essentially the first 12 chapters of the book of Romans the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans Paul then begins to lay out the implications of the gospel for the Christian life We begin to see in the book of Romans really in chapter 12 forward imperatives right Paul lays out these these glory glorious Indicatives these statements of fact these assertions of truth in the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans Basically an explanation of the gospel an exposition of the gospel and justification by faith alone in Christ alone And then in laying out those glorious assertions of truth Then Paul begins to lay out the implications of that which is how we are to live So he begins in chapter 12 verse 1 Present your bodies a living sacrifice. That is our reasonable Service to God considering all of those glorious truths We're gonna talk about a related subject to that this morning in our text in Romans during the sermon chapter 12 verse 3 love one another Chapter 12 verse 14 love your enemies and then in chapter 13 verse 1 be subject to governing authorities and so on okay Being subject to governing authorities in chapter 13 verse 1 is part of now Paul's Working out all of that good theology and how it's the impact how we are to live right how we are to live And I think it's incumbent upon us as subject to God as Our absolute sovereign subject to the lordship of Jesus Christ that we are Dutiful and faithful subjects of the governing authorities right God wants to his people to testify of their Submissiveness to his own absolute authority by submitting ourselves to governing authorities and we'll talk about that all right So then now considering the context of Romans 13 Paul is writing to a people To a church here that is living under the rule of the Roman Empire and if you think about that with me for a moment with that entails their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ living as Christians under the rule of the Roman Empire raised serious questions regarding how they were to relate To the government how they are to rate particularly to civil authorities and even how they're to relate more Broadly to the social sphere They had increased in their time this increased responsibility this increased Accountability for how they were to interrelate with the state because of the government they were living under the persecution the difficulty that they were living under Paul describes in this context living under probably the most suppressive repressive oppressive regimes in all of human history the Roman Empire Paul describes the posture of the Christian how the Christian is to relate so to speak to the civil authority in Rome In doing so now when what we don't want to neglect from Romans 13 is at the same time Paul Describes what should be the posture of the civil authorities What the posture of the government should be too and so in doing this in Romans 13 Paul is essentially Laying out the way that things should be the way the the Christian ideal if you will for both The Christian and in their relationship to civil authorities But also with respect to the state and how the state is to operate under the authority of God Okay, we see both Even though the emphasis here is an imperative to believers for how they are to interact with the state Okay, so we want to talk about this under a few points. The first is the source of government Governmental authority. We're gonna talk about the source of governmental authority. We'll talk about The substance of that governmental authority, which will be next week and that's really really important and then we'll talk about Implications obligations commitments from the text that Paul lays out for us. Okay, so let's talk first About the source of governmental authority. I think this is gonna be very clear to us verse one Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities For or because there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God All right from verse one Paul we want to talk about an imperative that Paul gives that's a commandment and imperative an Indicative which is a statement of fact. All right, and we want to talk about instances and implications when I keep our customary pattern of alliteration going we've not failed yet in Help us remember Imperative indicative instances and implications. Okay, so let's talk about the imperative first the imperative in verse one is this Let every soul right every soul be subject to the governing authorities. That's a command. That's in the imperative literally From the Greek it's translated every soul To surpassing or higher authorities be subject right be subject Every soul to surpassing or higher authorities be subject that verb be subject is a present passive Imperative right present meaning it's ongoing Passive it's something that we do passive. We are being subject so to speak. We've submitted ourselves and it's a command the word be subject refers to being willing or being inclined to submit to orders or To submit to commands Being subject notice that Paul doesn't say obey he could have said let every soul obey the governing authorities and elsewhere Titus in particular uses the word obey Peter uses the word be submissive Here Paul uses the term be subject be submissive, right? There's a reason I believe that Paul doesn't say strictly obey But he says be submissive be subject that word for be subject that verb Expresses a willingness expresses a desire and inclination a heart disposition To obey to submit rather than the more active obey This is a more passive willingness on the part of the Christian to be submissive to be subject to higher or surpassing authorities It's not referring strictly or solely we would we would say it's not referring merely to obedience Not merely a yielding if you will but a willingness a heart Disposition to submit a heart disposition ready to be obedient ready to be to follow commands, right and the for there The indicative or the statement of fact statement of truth is for the sake of honoring the Lord who appointed that authority It's for the sake of the Lord the duty required from verse one is submission, right? The duty required is submission Matthew Henry Defines that as loyalty Respect he describes it as obedience to just laws and commands, right? Subject to legal penalties when you are submissive to the government and you disobey the government you're subjecting yourself to Legal penalties legal sanctions not unlike when you join the church for example We practice church discipline church discipline is there for our good the Lord Appoints that practice for our good and so when we come to join the church We are submitting ourselves to church discipline why because it's for our good, right? This the governing authorities appointed by God our ministers for good as a citizen of that country So to speak when you're submissive to governing authorities You're submitting yourself to penal penal sanctions penalties punishments related to breaking the law You're saying I am willing to submit myself to this law I'm willing to submit myself to those penalties Okay, so the the duty required in all of this is submission notice also I Think it's important the way that Henry describes that is that it's submission to just laws and commands obedience to just laws And commands not just any laws and commands Now what comes to mind when I think about that is the submission that a wife voluntarily gives her husband, right? The submission of a wife to her husband is not coerced at the tip of a sword Or at the crack of a whip is it? The the the submission that a wife biblically gives to her husband is a voluntary Submission and the husband sacrificially is to love his wife So that submission is voluntary the wife voluntarily submits to her husband And so the wife has a heart disposition She has a willingness before the Lord to desire obedience, but obedience to every single command No, I would with Henry qualify that to say obedience to just commands, right? We know and we can use again that sort of Simple understanding that we're to obey God rather than men So if a husband were to give an unjust an unlawful command That is contrary to the law of God though faithful Biblically submissive wife would be just and right to resist obedience to that command wouldn't she right? She would be obeying God rather than men by Resisting that unjust unrighteous unlawful unbiblical command on the part of her husband And at the same time is herself a submissive wife. Do you see so there is a sense in which and we as we talk about this idea of Paul a commanding that we are to be subject to governing authorities that sometimes being submissive and Being subject does not entail Obedience right oftentimes it does entail obedience But I think the distinction that has to be made of the outset here is that it's obedience to just Laws and commands. Okay, we're gonna talk about that more as we get into the text. I can think of several examples of that in scripture Obviously the relationship between the husband and his wife I think is a good example of that kind of submission the submission that's called for the obedience that's called for But I think of other examples in scripture with Closer respect to the governing authorities and one of those that comes to mind is is Paul with King Saul right and Paul What is Paul doing during the first part of his Relationship there with King Saul Paul is disobeying the governing authority He's not showing up when he's supposed to show up. Why cuz he's a fear for his life Saul is going to kill him right Saul has no biblical right to take the life of Saying Paul David Got Paul on the brain So it wrote it. Thank you brother. Yeah, give me the benefit of the doubt fill in the gaps for me It's David David we got our testaments all interwoven here mixed up David's running for his life right Saul has no biblical authority no authority as king There's no divine right of kings that Saul is exercising to take David's life. All right, it's a Saul doesn't have that authority so David rightly resists the authorities But David has a heart disposition doesn't he of submission right a heart Disposition willing desirous Desirous of submitting to Saul as king if Saul would just do right Would deal justly So we see examples of that in David's own actions right in the in the cave When Saul comes in to relieve himself and David and his mighty men are hiding in the cave David has an opportunity at that moment to take Saul's life right and what does David do? He honors the Lord by respecting the authority that God had given to Saul But he doesn't just submit his life to Saul to do with to do with it as Saul pleases David resists by fleeing protecting his own life and in doing that. He's keeping the sixth commandment, isn't he? and He cuts off the corner of Saul's robe to show him his loyalty his fealty to the king And to country right as Henry states his loyalty his respect and then his willingness to obey just laws and commands Paul in the courtyard of the high priest is another example You whitewashed him then he realized what the law said and he retracted his statement out of respect not for that Wicked man in the position of the high priest but for the institution of the high priesthood, right? There is this respect this loyalty that the law affords of that position even though there have been some very wicked ungodly men who have held to that position Paul was respectful had a heart Disposition a willingness to be loyal to be respectful of that position that makes sense the the In other words if Paul would have said Romans chapter 13 verse 1 obey the governing authorities and all things I Think it leaves it would have left out that nuance that understanding of what be Subject communicates. Okay. Let me before we go any further with this. Let me just ask. Are there any questions with respect to that? We're on the same page Okay The context then there's a context to Paul statement in verse 1 Not unlike today not unlike the context we find ourselves in today This was spoken in a context of many who despised authority. All right. This was spoken in a context. Oh, Brian. Oh, it's okay, brother Go ahead, man. Yeah, I need to give you a longer time to think I was thinking about David and Saul Would he have been Justified to take Saul's life at any time like there he did say I will not touch the Lord's anointed and there was Saul trying to you know kill David knew that he was going to be king at some point Would he have been justified at any point if he would have decided to end Saul's life or was he obligated to Not yeah, I think I think that's a really good question brother I think David is a very good example and a very good testimony of Going to the extent that we can To avoid that very thing, right? I think we in keeping with the sixth commandment And in keeping with I think biblical instruction elsewhere We have not only the right but the responsibility to Protect our own life Even to the degree of taking life to do it right and self-defense is the In other words, we have a right to self-defense. Um, I think when I was asked a question A while back about the Lord's teaching in Matthew chapter 5 the sermon on the mount and turn the other cheek What turn the other cheek does not mean is it does not mean this blind acceptance of whatever somebody does to me like I have no Duty no responsibility to defend myself It's accept the dishonor accept the be willing to In Hebrews in the hall of faith those faithful brothers and sisters Accepted joyfully accepted the plundering of their goods, right joyfully accepted The persecution even of their lives For the sake of honoring the Lord and honoring their testimony to the gospel And so I think in texts like the sermon on the mount Matthew chapter 5 or even in david's example I think it's it's um faithful good righteous and just for the christian to give excellent testimony Of our faith in the lord jesus christ our faith in god by doing all that we can To respect and to honor In this case the institution of the king in the way that god has called us to but I think that had saw Drawn his sword and come at david david would have had not only the right but the responsibility to protect his own life Makes sense. So I think um again david had opportunity in that cave not to do that And so in choosing to honor the lord and choosing to trust the lord Right then you think about david's frame of mind too into that Entirely trusting lord. He knew he would be king But he was going to be king at god's doing not his own doing. He's not going to take matters into his own hands We see other examples of that in scripture where matters are taken into their own hands. Abraham is a Is an example that comes to mind for me where you know pretend you're my sister, right or um child of promise And I'm a really old guy and so I'm gonna Lie with hagar to take matters into my own hands and there's a Failure on the part of abraham to trust the lord in that whereas we see a good testimony of david trusting the lord in that That helped answer the question there again. It goes back to that issue too. There is a responsibility not only a responsibility but a right A duty on the part of the christian to preserve their life Uh, we're gonna get to that when we talk about our own government and the declaration of independence the bill of rights um Where we have of the right to the inalienable right Inalienable inalienable rights are those rights given to us by god They're not given to us by the government their rights given to us by god And the christian has both the duty and the responsibility to defend those rights and not to allow them to be taken Why because they're given a given us by god and we're stewards of them We're stewards of those rights So they're not to be taken from us and one of those chief among those is the right to life, right Now we'll talk about this more when we get there, but any of the thoughts or questions with respect to that Okay, we'll flesh that out more This was roman shepherd 13 verse 1 I've spoken in a context of many in that day and age who despised authority who rejected authority who There were those in the lord's day The zealots who were actively fighting against the government Um despising the authority And so with these commands this command was given it was given in that context and even today you'll hear um many, um Despising the authority in that sense defund the police. I think is a chief example currently despising the authority And wanting to cast their cords off from them, right Defund the police is a good example. Rome again one of the most repressive oppressive regimes in human history So paul in roman shepherd 13 verse 1 I think it's important to remember that paul is not speaking only Of good or benevolent authorities paul is speaking of repressive ungodly authorities however The more repressive or oppressive or tyrannical The government is the more important it is that a christian understand their responsibility to be subject, right? the more tyrannical The government becomes The more important it is that we're clear on what be subject means and that we have a heart disposition to be submissive Uh, even when government uh oversteps their bounds the flood waters, um Waters flood into another sphere of jurisdiction We need to understand what that be subject means. Okay, that's the imperative, right? Let every soul be subject To the governing authorities. Let's talk about the indicative Or this statement this assertion of truth, okay for or because There is no There is no authority except from god and the authorities that exist are appointed by god All right, there is no authority except from god the authorities that exist are appointed by god That is a statement of fact. That's the indicative. We go from imperative paul begins with the imperative and then gives the reason why right the indicative, okay god being sovereign All authority is given or delegated authority All authority is given authority or delegated authority derived authority Why because the lord jesus christ has been given all authority all authority begins with him Finds its source in him belongs to him And so any authority that exists in our context is a given authority a delegated authority a derived authority It comes from him. Okay, and that comes with significant implications. We're going to talk about all governmental authorities All civil authorities are ordained. They are decreed Established by god. They receive their power. They receive their authority from God himself Now we're to understand this in the context of something we've talked about before which is the doctrine of concurrence. Okay All authority derives its authority from god What about wicked authorities our government is a wicked Government they execute wicked laws. They do wicked things. They behave wickedly. They're made up of people who are absolutely Devoid of the things of god hate the things of god want to eradicate any notion of god from the public sphere altogether, right? It's not a godly government Other governments in world history have been unbelievably tyrannical and deadly and horrific so How are we to understand Those governments relative to this statement of paul that all authority Is given by god the governing authorities that exist are appointed by god, right? This is understood within something. We've talked about the doctrine of concurrence. Okay We know that the bible teaches the bible clearly teaches that god works all things after the council of his own will Our statement of faith says that god determines all things whatsoever that comes to pass God is sovereign in that way all Things that come to pass god decrees. Okay, god is sovereign working all Not some things All things after the council of his own will how you did your hair this morning. All right, whether you brush your teeth or forgot right There's everything is encompassed under that statement so then Into that that doesn't eradicate or negate the fact that we make Decisions ourselves. We have we make free moral decisions. Okay Free in one sense not freeing another and god uses Secondary causes then to bring about his will god in our statement of faith says that god doesn't do violence To man's will god uses secondary causes to bring about his will and that's how these things fit together, right? We would call it free moral agency or the responsibility of man the culpability of man for his own sin Combined with in relation to the absolute sovereignty of god over all things whatsoever that come to pass and these things are married. They're not Two separate Contradictory things. We're trying somehow to fit together. No, they are fit together. These things are married The bible describes I think the way that we can understand how the bible marries those two together how they are married Is there something called the doctrine of concurrence? God uses secondary causes to bring his will about not god is not the direct author of evil James says that god is god tempts no one to evil But what men mean for evil god doesn't simply use for good God determines for good god intends for good remember god is Absolutely sovereign over all things whatsoever that come to pass and so when um Joseph makes that statement in exodus chapter 50 to his brothers right what you meant for evil god meant for good God determines god intends god decrees all things whatsoever that come to pass and he Wields as it were in his sovereign power even the wicked Free moral choices of men to accomplish his purposes and ends So whatever secondary causes then god uses to bring authorities to power god is Sovereign over those authorities coming to power. So Let's flesh this out a little bit and I want to give you an opportunity to ask questions God can use a lawful election To bring his authority to power or god may use an unlawful election To bring his authority his decreed civil authority to power God may use a hostile takeover To bring his decreed or ordained authority to power god may use insurrection god may use war god may use revolution God may use political deceit To bring the civil authority that he has decreed to power god may use heredity All right, we've seen that in governments around the world God may use foreign invasion But in whatever respect whatever secondary cause God determines to use it is god who is bringing that civil authority to power Paul's statement romans chapter 13 verse 1 there is no authority except from god and the authorities that exist Are appointed by god Simply clear right very clear what paul is saying and we're not going to get around that statement with Gymnastics over you know free will and all that kind of stuff right god through secondary causes Determines what comes to pass including civil authorities and he brings those civil authorities Into existence so to speak by his own determined will and for ordained purpose And he can use whatever secondary cause he determines to use so Most recently there are many Who look at that election as a complete farce? understandably so But bear in mind god is sovereign over those authorities that exist They are appointed by god whether you think the election was fair and legitimate or whether you think the election was unfair and illegitimate Men get what they deserve right? We have the government that god has appointed For us to have because god is sovereign over the government that we have okay that government is established by And established with the authority of god himself The government that we have established by and with the authority of god himself. Let me give you some Instances from scripture One passage that comes to mind immediately is proverbs chapter 21 verse 1 the king's heart Is in the hand of the lord like the rivers of water. He turns it wherever he wishes Right god sovereign over the king's heart. We remember from scripture. Um, let's look at a couple of these quickly Uh in isaia chapter 10 Look at isaia chapter 10 with me In isaia chapter 10 The the lord brings the assyrians to power And that is by the direct agency of god almighty God himself brings the assyrians to power Isaia chapter 10 beginning in verse 5 look at verse 5 He's not going to profess A prophesied judgment against assyria for all that they've done. It's amazing to me God will bring forth a country like this to judge His own people to judge israel That country is a wicked country that country in their wickedness is going to attack israel And then god in his just and righteous judgment will turn and judge that wicked country for their sin against his people Divine concurrence god in infinite wisdom Bringing about his decreed ends. Okay verse five Woe to assyria the rod of my anger assyria is the rod of god's anger He holds it in his hands so to speak and he wields it against his own people You see the the people of israel and the staff assyria is the staff in whose hand is my indignation I will send him assyria against an ungodly nation against the people of my wrath I will give him charge To seize the spoil to take the pray and to tread them down like the mire of the streets In other words assyria is appointed by god to do god's will In pouring out judgment on israel. Okay yet He assyria does not mean so Nor does his heart think so But it is in his heart to destroy and cut off not a few nations in that fascinating right In the heart and mind of assyria the kings of assyria the leaders of assyria. They're not thinking to themselves We are going to do the will of god. We're going to attack israel. We're going to bring judgment upon israel We're doing the work of god. They're not thinking of that at all into their minds They're a pagan idolatrous wicked nation there in their minds doing evil But what they mean for evil god has determined for good. What's the good that god is going to get from the nation of assyria Pouring out judgment on the nation of israel. Do you see Four he says verse eight assyria says are not my princes altogether kings Is not cano Like karkamish is not hamath like arfad is not samaria like damascus As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols whose carved images excelled those of jerusalem and samaria As i have done to samaria and her idols shall i not do also to jerusalem and her idols Amazing isn't it therefore it shall come to pass when the lord has performed all his work on mount zion and on That he will say then I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of assyria and the glory of his haughty looks For he says By the strength of my hand. I have done it and by my wisdom for I am prudent Also, I have removed the boundaries of the people removed their Landmarks right And I have robbed he's taken their property I have robbed their treasuries. I've put down the inhabitants like a valiant man My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people as one gathers eggs that are left I have gathered all the earth and there's no one who moved his wing nor opened his mouth with even a peep Well, shall the the axe boast itself against him who chops with it Shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it as if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up Or as if a staff could lift up as it were as it were not wood Therefore the lord the lord of hosts will send Leanness among his fat ones famine under his glory He will kindle a burning like the burning of a fire So the light of israel will be for a fire and his holy one for a flame He will it will burn and devour his thorns his briars in one day They will consume the glory of the forest right he goes on and on with that Concerning assyria right we can think of other examples from scripture a nebuchadnezzar Daniel chapter four is another example god gives kingdoms to whom he wishes He can raise them up and cast them down if you read through the book of daniel daniel is a A bit of an exposition on this particular subject right? Daniel chapter five you have the wicked king bell shazer And the story there of bell shazers feast You've been weighed you've been numbered you've been weighed you've been found wanting God is going to cast you down and in that very night the kingdom is ripped from him given to A godly nation who's going to rule free? No Given to the Meads and the persians right the god sends the caldeans The as you get to daniel chapter seven and the four kingdoms that are we see Daniel seven daniel eight daniel nine those are king kingdoms and Run by tin horn dictators, you know In those kingdoms and they're raised up and torn down by the sovereign will of god And all of those kingdoms pointing to leading up to the everlasting kingdom that will never be destroyed that will also be Established in permanence by the sovereign work of god, right? God raises up syrus Now we see syrus In ezra nemaa Cyrus and isiah 44 god calls syrup before Cyrus was even a flicker on anybody's radar god is calling him by name In the book of isiah the prophecy of isiah absolutely amazing right turn with me to habakkuk Habakkuk And look at habakkuk chapter one verse one habakkuk is having difficulty Not unlike psalm 73 we read a couple of weeks ago having difficulty with the wicked right Pervasive wickedness in the land. He's crying out. He's um in despair distress over this wickedness and god Is going to raise up the kaldians to Judge the israelites so by god's direct agency For the purpose of judgment serving god's purposes god is going to raise up the kaldians look at verse five Look god says to habakkuk look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded for i will work a work in your days, which you would not believe though it were told you For indeed i am raising up the kaldians a bitter and hasty Nate i wanted to say nasty that's what it looks like. My eyesight's not that good. They're both. They're both hasty and nasty A bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to possess dwelling places that are not theirs They are terrible and dreadful their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves Their horses also are swifter than leopards more fierce than evening wolves their chargers charge ahead Their calvary comes from afar. They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat They all come for violence their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand They scoff at kings princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold They heap up earth and mounds and seize it then his mind changes and he transgresses Right, he commits a fence ascribing this power to his little g god right This idolatrous nature he doesn't realize the kaldians don't realize that they are a rod in the hand of god And god will judge them for their sin also From the assyrians to the babelonians to the meads and the persians to the kaldians To the hitlers and the stylans in our own day There is no authority except from god Paul says and the authorities that exist are appointed by god And we know that they're appointed by god with a divine purpose a divine end in mind God working out all things for the good of his own people And maybe judgment upon the loss maybe chastening upon his own people right God working all things out according to his own will divine Concurrents god accomplishing his will through them Whatever they think or suppose that they are doing god is working out his divine will through them They are a secondary cause even when they abuse the authority That they've been given that's been delegated by god and they often do Even when they abuse that authority Uh to do evil What they mean for evil god has determined for good On the basis of their god given authority on the basis of their appointment by god according to his will that's the Um indicative paul says verse one let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. That's the resulting imperative. Okay questions Yep, how should christians look at the american revolutionary war? since britain the british at that time were ruling Yeah, that that would be a good series of sunday school classes to talk about that I um You know in thinking about this subject and i'll give you a quick answer brother. I mean we can talk more about it Um, but in thinking about this subject. Um, there were people Christians Many of them who fled persecution in europe various circumstances of persecution against christians and came to this country for Freedom to worship and to serve god as they saw fit our founding fathers in Beginning to conceive of a government here Thought to establish a government that would protect those rights They came here, uh and established their own families their own property their own livelihood And in my personal opinion, uh thinking through that what you have in England at the time Is a tyrannical invading Army invading country Wanting to at the point of a sword take that from them Um, so the the um, we'll get into that more when we talk about how our government was set up, but their initial cry of um taxation without representation Was a part of that. Um They have we have right to life To liberty inalienable rights to property And what our declaration of independence referred to as the pursuit of happiness And um those god given not government given but god given rights Were being taken and so I think um And we'll talk about this more in the future, but a christian under those circumstances Uh, they have um certain opportunities available to them, right? The um the first Is to resist To protest right to protest so in england, um in the netherlands France they were protesting um after The reformation or at the time of the Reformation and continuing on many of them were killed persecuted burned at the stake hunted down Churches closed Uh, and so the protest Didn't work it's quote-unquote in many cases And so the the christian then the second opportunity available to the christian is to flee to flee persecution We should flee persecution so what did they do the huganots fled? right the The particular baptist in england, uh fled and fled to America you know fled to the the new land And um the new world and when they fled they were hunted down and followed And then what is a christian to do if Protest doesn't work if fleeing is no longer an option and I think the um the The responsibility the right of a christian in that circumstance is to fight And so I I I see Personally these are my own thoughts on it and I'll maybe we can flesh that out more later Is that the american revolution was a just defense of life and liberty on the part of those who lived here who came here for Freedom to worship god as they saw fit according to the bible And they were protecting their own life liberty and property against tyranny And so um, I would have considered I would consider the american revolution a just Application of those biblical principles at some point. I think those three things hold fast right the the christian can protest Um past protests the christian can um flee flee persecution And after fleeing I think we at some point you have to fight you have to defend You're defending your own family. Uh, you're defending god's god given inalienable rights And you're doing that against tyranny tyranny is a satanic device Not a god wielded device So I think it's Incoming upon christians at some point at some point to fight that's in in Schaefer's book christian manifesto He talks about wrestling with where that line is and I think that christians should wrestle with where those lines are And we'll do that as part of this study together Wrestle some with where that line is but at some point I think it becomes right to right to fight help Okay all right Peter says something similar Question. Oh, thank you brother. Sorry Yes, the the secondary causes And free will those connected in terms of how god brings about What he wants, you know, I wasn't clear on that. Yeah, thank you brother. Thank you. Um, yeah, so, um We Act freely I make decisions and the decisions that I make are Decisions for which I'm responsible. I'm held culpable. I'm Responsible for the decisions I make and so this this notion of free will that some Um Unhelpful Calvinists will propose that that we have zero free will we have no free will I think is very unhelpful Our we make free moral decisions on a regular basis decisions for which we're held responsible But our wills are in bondage enslaved to sin the scripture is really clear about that It's like a man in a in a prison cell for example, right? He's free to make decisions But he's not getting out of the prison cell, right? He's he's making free moral decisions within the four walls of that cell Our wills are in bondage to sin. So we Make decisions and while all the while our natures are corrupted by sin enslaved to sin and so our Moral wills are in bondage so to speak but as we make decisions And being responsible for our own decisions God uses even those decisions to accomplish his will right those become A direct cause would be if god did the thing himself, right? direct moral agency god god It would make god the author of sin so to speak But god uses the free moral agency of man or uses Secondary causes in that sense to accomplish his own will such that what joseph's brothers meant for evil Against him god meant for good to save many lives. It's um That issue of secondary causes god's not the author of sin doesn't tempt anyone to sin But god will use the sin of man to accomplish his own purposes And that's what divine concurrence and secondary causes deals with that helps Okay, we're out of time this morning. I want to give you this from peter first peter chapter 2 verse 13 peter says therefore Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake Whether to the king as supreme or to governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers And for the praise of those who do good for this is the will of god that by doing good You may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men As free yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of god Honor all people love the brotherhood fear god honor the king and it's for the lord's sake His honor Is concerned with the dutiful responsible behavior Of subjects to their sovereign right and so we as christians are to submit ourselves to governing authorities Okay, we're gonna pick up there next week and talk about that in more detail if you have questions Please let me know happy to help and we'll keep going in romans. This will make more sense as we work through the text Okay. All right, let's pray Father in heaven very grateful to you lord For your word grateful for this book of romans What a joy it is lord to spend time in this book together and to learn from it Please help us understand these things and as we go cultivate within us Lumin our hearts and minds cultivate within us an understanding of our relationship to the governing authorities which you appoint and help us lord to First and foremost without compromise be faithful to you and how we relate to them That's our object here in thinking through these things is to Be ultimately faithful to you even in the the Disposition of our hearts this willingness to be submissive to the authorities which you appoint Help us lord as we think through these things for your glory god for the sake of our lord jesus christ We pray in his name amen